Policy Brief Topic

Based on the Congressional Research Service report on Human Trafficking, human trafficking in the United States is an issue affecting 100,000 children that are U.S. citizens, while approximately 17,000 people are brought into the United States every year to be trafficked. Human trafficking is an "international and a domestic crime that involves violations of labor and law, public health, and human rights standards" (Siskin & Wyler, 2013). There is sex and labor trafficking and child trafficking. Although there are policies and laws reduce and ultimately eliminate human trafficking, it continues to be a global issue. "Socially isolated and culturally excluded, disempowered, disenfranchised, and marginalized groups can be particularly susceptible to human trafficking" (Siskin & Wyler, 2013). A challenge in implementing and enforcing anti-trafficking laws is due to the lack of punishment and detectability of those guilty. The number of prosecutions and convictions is not representative in comparison to the prevalence of the issue. So far there is no research to provide evidence on the number of cases of children used for sex trafficking in the US. This is enough information to motivate me to further investigate anti human trafficking policies in the United States.

Source: 

Siskin, A., Wyler, S. L. (2013) Congressional Research Report. Trafficking in Persons: U.S Policy and Issues for Congress. Retrieved on 6/10/2014 from http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL34317.pdf.